Double-dipping politicians still think it's OK to take our tax dollars for their retirement benefits — while also taking our money to pay their salaries.

A congresswoman wanted to hold our flood-relief money hostage while she played politics with our lives.

Our local representatives took our money for mileage payments to meetings we elected them to attend.

But why end 2011 on such sour notes?

The past year was filled with so many examples of quiet goodness by our friends and neighbors, there's plenty of hope for the year ahead.

Because of Kevin Marrinan of Eldred, scores of men and women who protected us will be forever remembered.

The Vietnam vet saw graves of World War II veterans littered with dirt and debris. He did not want the soldiers to be forgotten. So every morning, Marrinan combs the obituaries for World War II veterans. Then, at the site of the national World War II Memorial — www.wwiimemorial.com — he types in descriptions of their service.

He signs them with words that could be written by any of us: "Honored by a thankful American."

Whenever we write about what might be our most heartbreaking yet hidden problem — the thousands of children who are so poor they can't afford food, shoes or socks — so many of you want to help.

One reader was so touched by the plight of a boy who couldn't afford a quarter for a reduced-price school lunch, she offered to buy him those lunches for the rest of the year.

"Every time I come across a quarter, I think of him and my heart aches," she said.

That note is one of many from readers who reached deep to help those who so desperately need it. It's an example of the small acts of goodness that can make a big difference in our part of the world.

Here's what another reader, Lee Martin, did after she learned kids in her local school in Wurtsboro are needy:

She and the folks in her office collected food. They bought new clothes and toys. They donated it all to the children who were hungry and hurting.

"We can only hope that these items will help these families to enjoy their holiday just a touch more," she said.

And whenever our politicians pay too much attention to their selfish interests, so many of you remind me of our better selves. Even as our representatives played politics with that flood aid for the ravages of Hurricane Irene, regular folks helped one another. We brought the elderly and frail to shelter. We cleared downed trees from roads. In Phoenicia, where the water rose so high and fierce it ripped homes off foundations and twisted guardrails, one young man donated his family's backhoes and tractors to clear as much rubble as possible, joined by hundreds of volunteers, from New York City weekenders to lifelong locals.

When Mike Formant explained why, he spoke words that should usher us into 2012: "It's our town, our neighbors. We help each other out."